Aaah! Real Monsters Review/Transcript
Oblina: 'You could do this! Doodoodoodoodoodoodoo! Or this! Bladlalalala! Or maybe this! *roars* This was actually a show that I had never seen before doing this marathon. Yeah, despite growing up in the nineties and at least watching a few episodes of at least every single other Nicktoon up to I think ''The X's, this is one that I missed out on. Maybe it wasn't aired that often and that's something that I could buy because, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ''is unlike any other Klasky Csupo cartoon out there. This is by far the darkest of all their efforts, unless you wanna count ''Stressed Eric. Even ignoring that, this is the only show that Klasky Csupo has ever done where their art style actually benefited the show that they were animating. I mean, usually when they animate things they look like monsters anyway, it was a brilliant move to give them a show about monsters. Yeah, I don't know if I'd call this the "best-looking" Klasky Csupo cartoon, but it certainly is the most fitting. Usually. When the show is just monsters, it looks visually great. There are so many creative designs, and these monsters look appealing in their own cool and creative ways, with interesting shapes and manners of moving. The problems occur when the humans are on screen. No joke, the humans in this show look more disturbing than the monsters. Like this weird director character. 'Director: '''Why we'll have...Krumm lunch boxes! Thermoses! We could even have a line of clothing! Krummderwear... I have no idea what's going on with these facial expressions, but he seems to be...a reminder that existence is constant pain. ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters...okay, before I continue, I'm going to need to bring this up before it gets distracting. This show has the most '''stupid title out of any Nicktoon. And it's all because of that "Aaahh!!!" in front of it. There is no way to say it without sounding incredibly awkward. Like, you're going in for a doctor's appointment. Unless of course you wanna scream it at the top of your lungs. Although that would probably be...more awkward. And you can't really remove the "Aaahh!!!" because "Real Monsters" is a horribly generic title. I'd abbreviate it, but then it'd end up spelling A-R-M, Arm. I mean it's better than abbreviating Spyro The Dragon, but still there is no way to say this show's name without it sounding like some form of awkward. I'm just gonna go with the least bad option and abbreviate it to A-R-M, I guess. ARM ''is a show about three young monsters: Krumm, Ickis, and Oblina. As they learn to scare human beings. As you might have been able to tell, it's not the most original premise, especially in hindsight when we have countless other pieces of media like this. ''Monsters Inc. ''immediately comes to mind when you think of this concept. Although in this show, the monsters are also interested in scaring adults and teens. But in both pieces of media, it is a power source. In ''ARM ''though, the monsters will '''literally '''disappear if the humans stop believing in them. I thought that I might have had a similar reaction to this than I did to ''Doug, but quite honestly, I really did enjoy this show. Let me put this into perspective. As I'm going through this marathon, I'm not watching every single episode from each and every show. So I do apologize in advance if I do miss something...minor that happens in like one episode that changes everything. But to watch every single episode with things like Spongebob ''or ''The Fairly Oddparents, or shows that go on for seasons and seasons, that would be absolutely insane. How many episodes that I need to watch from each various show depends on the show itself. But with Real Monsters, I wanted to keep watching more and more, which actually surprised me. And that might sound surprising because this show is not something that you'd expect me liking. It's a very creepy show with a lot of grossout. Characters eating bugs, talking about how much they smell...Oblina's main gimmick is that she throws up random things. The monsters live in a dump after all. It might be that the animation itself makes all of this a lot more forgivable. A rough, ugly art style like this really makes everything blend in nicely and it creates a tone that's never jarring. Which is usually when grossout becomes a problem. I suppose it's on the same level of me being afraid of death, but actually like watching Grim from Billy & Mandy. This show does talk about gross topics, but it's not animated like Squidward getting his toe ripped out or Spongebob's splinter. It does have some consistency. Although I still would not recommend watching this show while eating. The grossout is something that more or less builds into the setting of the world, which really helps me buy it. That's when grossout doesn't work for me; when there is no point except to shock the audience. Honestly, I was not expecting to like this show as much as I did. One of its main brands of humor is black comedy. And I will say that this show is so much more in line with Duckman than Stressed Eric. Thank God. Gromble: 'Do you know what will happen if you do not get that manual back? '''Ickis: '''You're not gonna torture me, are you? '''Gromble: '*laughs* Of course not! That's his job... 'Monsters: '*gasp* The Snorch! I can't say that all the characters deserve the torment that they get, but this show is a master of tone. Stressed Eric ''is a show where one person in the universe gets dumped on repeatedly. For no reason. This is a show where everyone gets dumped on equally. And that might be a turnoff for some people I understand, but, it's not for me. Like I said, this show was really underplayed back in the day so I'd have to imagine that it was a turnoff for...some people. Another turnoff for people might be the theme introduction. ''(Plays a bit of the theme song) It's not the ''worst theme song that I've ever heard, but quite honestly, it's just noise. But what's worse than that is that the visuals of it are just random nonsense. It gives a ''vague idea of the concept of the show, monsters scaring people, but it doesn't do much else besides that. It doesn't give any real insight to who the characters are. It's a 'bad '''theme, and even worse it ends with a stock scream sound effect. ''(Plays the end of the theme song where a Wilhelm scream is heard) As a kid that probably wouldn't bother me, but as an adult, it is really tacky. Just, have a voice actor do it or something. I don't know. Could you imagine if another show like say Courage the Cowardly Dog ''or ''Invader Zim ''put in a Wilhelm scream in their intro? No, you couldn't because that would be stupid. Luckily for all of us, the stupidity does not go past the intro. I don't know if I'd call this show "smart..." '''Kid: '*picks up Krumm* Hey Brad! What's this piece of crud? 'Brad: '''Probably my sister's. ''(The kid takes a wind-up key from a toy duck and sticks it in Krumm's rear. He turns the key, making Krumm wince in pain while Ickis bites his nails fearfully from the closet) But it really is creative. It does have a lot of ideas that we'd see later in things like Monsters Inc., with the "foul-smelling things being appealing to monsters." But it also has a lot of ideas that I don't think we've seen since. For instance, the monsters have the ability to tickle someone's brains and give them nightmares. I think the best aspect of this show though, is its characters. Our main three don't have the strongest personalities that I've ever seen, but they do have a very good dynamic. Their friendship is extremely believable, and it's rather cute to how much they actually care about each other. And I love the bizarre scenarios they often get into, like trying to scare a girl on a plane. I'm surprised that episode didn't have a reference to The Twilight Zone, considering they've literally had a gremlin on the wing of an airplane. Ickis is pretty cool. His main ability is having his eyes fill up with blood, yes blood, and then turning gigantic. Yeah, the nineties didn't really have much in the way of what we'd call "censorship," at least towards blood and gore and...grossout. And honestly, television was probably better for it in the long-run. You can get so much under the radar that you barely had to try back then. Krumm was really cool as well. His down-to-earth character helped set him apart from the wild world around him. And the voice acting behind him really helps. 'Krumm: '''I got-I gotta go check on something. Uh...I'll catch up with you guys later...I can't go to class, then everyone will laugh at me. I could have sworn I heard his voice somewhere else, but no, his voice actor, as far as I can tell, has never done anything else, the guy doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. Other David Eccles do, but not him. I-I have no idea why he didn't continue his voice acting career, it's-it's a really unique, really nice voice. But everyone's favorite character has got to be the Gromble. This guy is ''delightfully sadistic. ['''Caption: No, he's not voiced by Tim Curry. Tim Curry IS in the show, he just doesn't voice the character who sounds like Tim Curry.] Gromble: 'How hard could it be to scare the pants off an eight-year-old? THIS!!!! WAS ALL YOU CAME UP WITH?!!!! *drops underwear on his face* ''(The monsters laugh) He's one of the best "Evil Teacher" tropes that I've ever seen. His voice and his mannerisms really sell the character. And the fright that he gives the literal monsters, it really enhances everything about the show. And I have to say; the character designs in this show are fantastic. I think that's one thing that kept me so invested in this show. If you do compare it to Monsters Inc., Mike is just an eyeball on legs. And Sulley? Well, he looks like a fluffy toy. So much so that they made a fluffy toy out of him. No, the monsters in Real Monsters look otherworldly. Even Ickis, who keeps getting confused for a rabbit, looks like something that comes out of someone's...wild, demented imagination. I guess the title "Real Monsters" is quite appropriate, because these creatures look like what real monsters would. Oblina's design is something that you won't see in any other show, and that's before she shape-shifts into something else. I suppose this is a good proof of what you can do with a dumb idea, and how creative you can really make it. I'm probably gonna be returning to this one and catching up on all of the episodes at some point. On the very least, it's a really good show to watch on Halloween. It's up there with Invader Zim, I have to say. But would I recommend this show to you? Like I said, it does have a lot of grossout, and this type of humor is ''certainly '''not for everyone. It's a dark show. The closest comparison I have to say is ''Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. If you like that show, I think it's safe to say that you'd like this show. They have a similar style of humor and they have similar levels of grossout. Grim Adventures ''can be a bit meaner and ''Real Monsters ''could be a bit grosser. The characters are definitely stronger in this one, but I do think that ''Grim Adventures ''could be a little bit more creative in some scenarios. If you were a ''Goosebumps ''kid or someone like that, definitely check this one out. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It was definitely a pleasant surprise for me, and honestly I think this is the best way to ''do a grossout show. Like I said, I probably still wouldn't watch it while eating, but this show never made me squeamish once. Not even when Krumm's pimple came alive and started singing. It's uh...that kind of show. (End Credits Theme: Aaahh!!! Real Monsters Theme Song) Category:Nick-o-Rama Category:Transcripts